Cosmetic Grade vs Food Grade Oils and Butters: What the Labels Mean

Walk down any aisle and you will see the same shea butter or sweet almond oil sold twice: once as "cosmetic grade" in a small bottle, once as a cooking or baking ingredient. This guide explains what those labels do and do not tell you. It is about oils, butters and waxes only. For the general question ("what do food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical grade mean for any ingredient?") see Food grade vs cosmetic grade vs pharmaceutical grade, and for words like raw, organic and cold-pressed in general see Raw, organic, cold-pressed and unrefined claims. We do not repeat those pages here.

Read this first

• In the FDA pages we read, whether a product is a cosmetic, a drug or a food depends on its intended use, shown by the label, ads and how it is marketed. "Cosmetic grade" is not defined in them. [1][3]
• In the US, cosmetics and their ingredients generally do not need FDA approval before they are sold (color additives are the exception). The company that sells the product is responsible for its safety. [2][3]
• "Cold-pressed", "virgin" and "refined" describe how an oil was made, not how safe it is. The research we read compares oil make-up, not health in people. [7]
• A plant-based or organic label does not decide safety. The FDA says the source of an ingredient does not determine whether it is safe. [4]
• Do not swallow a product sold only for skin or hair. If someone has swallowed a lot, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US).
• A skin oil that is also a food oil is not automatically gentle on every skin. Do a small test first: patch testing natural oils and butters.

How US rules treat cosmetics and food

The MoCRA page we read does not describe any pre-market approval step for cosmetics. [1]

Cosmetic grade. We found no definition of "cosmetic grade" in the FDA pages we read. [1][2][3][4] Treat it as a seller's phrase. It may mean the batch was made for skin use, but the sources we read give no purity standard behind the phrase. Proper evidence not found.

Cold-pressed, virgin, refined, RBD, deodorized

These words describe how an oil was made.

For butters (shea, cocoa, mango and others) the same logic applies: raw or unrefined butters keep their natural colour and scent, refined ones are pale and nearly scentless. We did not find a human study comparing refined and unrefined butters on skin. Proper evidence not found.

Does refining make an oil worse or better? It depends on the question. Refining can remove scent and some minor plant compounds; it is also a way to remove some contaminants. The review we read did not compare the two forms in people. [7] See also our page on rancidity, shelf life and storage.

Contaminants worth knowing about

Any oil or butter can carry unwanted traces from soil, machinery, packaging or processing. The sources we read cover these three:

• Mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH and MOAH). These are petroleum-based compounds that can get into food from machine lubricants, release agents, processing aids and packaging. EFSA's 2023 opinion says vegetable oils had the highest levels of the foods studied, and that infants fed only infant formula high in MOSH had the highest estimated exposure. EFSA found current MOSH exposure is not a health concern, but MOAH is: the types with three or more aromatic rings are linked to genotoxicity and cancer, and a possible health concern remains because data are lacking for smaller ones. [5][6] A separate lab paper describes a method to measure MOSH and MOAH in pure mineral-hydrocarbon cosmetics, such as mineral-oil-based products, and argues earlier methods may have overstated MOAH. [9] We did not find a study that measured these compounds in plant-based cosmetic oils or butters. Proper evidence not found.
• Heavy metals. A 2022 study of vegetable oils, palm oils, butter and shea butter bought in Nigerian markets found some samples above international maximum levels for cadmium, nickel and lead, and the authors said cadmium and lead intake from these oils and butters should not be treated as negligible. The abstract gives combined ranges, not shea-only numbers, and it covers one region. [10]
• Pesticide residues. The EU's 2023 monitoring report found 1.0% of 13,246 coordinated samples above the legal limit (non-compliant) and judged consumer risk very low for most groups. It covers food in general, not oils or cosmetics specifically. [11] We did not find an oil-specific or cosmetic-oil source. Proper evidence not found.

None of these is a reason to avoid all oils. They are reasons to prefer sellers who publish test results for the batch (see quality testing and certifications) and to keep oils away from hot, dirty or plastic-capped storage.

Can I use a food oil on my skin?

People have done this for a very long time with olive, coconut, sunflower and other food oils. A 2017 review of plant oils on skin covers olive, coconut, argan, jojoba, shea butter and others and discusses effects on skin barrier repair and inflammation. [12] We read only its abstract, so we cannot say how strong the human data are for each oil.

What the sources do and do not support:

• Generally possible, with caveats. The FDA says an ingredient need only be safe under labeled or customary use. [2] A plain food oil is a plausible skin oil, but the FDA also notes plants can contain substances that are toxic or allergenic. [4]


• Not always better for skin. In a pilot trial of 115 newborns, olive oil or sunflower oil twice a day for 4 weeks improved skin hydration compared with no oil, but the skin's fat-layer structure improved less than with no oil. The authors said caution should be used when recommending oils for newborn skin. The study was too small to show clinical effects. [13] See natural oils for baby skin and massage.


• Allergy still applies. Nut, seed, sesame and coconut allergy do not depend on the label. See allergies and plant product cross-reactions and sesame oil on skin.


• Cooking oils sold in bulk often have no ingredient label for skin use and no storage guidance. A rancid food oil is not a good skin oil either.

Can I eat or swallow an oil sold as cosmetic?

Not as intended. The FDA says legal category follows intended use, so a bottle sold for skin has not been presented as a food. [3] We did not find a source we read that tests cosmetic-labelled plant oils for swallowing, and cosmetic rules do not require safety tests for ingestion. [1][2] Some skin oils are risky when swallowed for reasons of their own (for example castor oil, apricot kernel oil); see castor oil safety and apricot kernel oil. A lip balm or a few drops on a hand is not the same as drinking an oil.

Reading the ingredient label (INCI names)

In the US, cosmetic ingredients are listed by common or usual name in descending order of amount. Ingredients at 1% or less can follow in any order, and color additives come after. [14][15] Names come from a compendium such as the CTFA (now INCI) Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary if one is listed, otherwise the name consumers know. [15] The FDA does not accept a Latin name in place of the English name, but a company may add it in brackets, such as Sweet Almond (Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis) Oil. [14]

In practice:

• Look for the Latin name in brackets: it tells you which plant the oil or butter comes from.


• "Fragrance" or "Parfum" can hide several scent ingredients. [14][15]


• A product that says "contains oil" with no plant named is hard to check against an allergy.


• A cosmetic whose safety is not substantiated must carry the statement "The safety of this product has not been determined". [15]

Baby products and organic certification

• Baby products. The FDA pages we could read do not give special pre-market rules for baby cosmetics beyond the general ones above. [1][2] The one trial we read in babies found a concern about olive and sunflower oil on newborn skin. [13] Ask your baby's clinician before routine oil use on newborns.
• Organic. The FDA says it does not define "organic" in the laws it enforces; USDA sets the official definition and certifies farm ingredients. An organic cosmetic must still meet FDA safety and labeling rules, and an organic origin does not make a plant ingredient safer. [4] For the USDA label tiers, see raw, organic, cold-pressed and unrefined claims.

Related pages

• Food grade vs cosmetic grade vs pharmaceutical grade
• Raw, organic, cold-pressed and unrefined claims
• Check before you use natural oils and butters
• Patch testing natural oils and butters
• Rancidity, shelf life and storage of natural oils
• Carrier oils explained
• Heavy metals in natural ingredients